Chapter 48

Leon’s temper must have flared, for he snapped his head around and seized Elwin’s shoulders.

The sudden, passionate movement erupted with such intensity that Echo, startled, took flight with a frantic beating of wings toward his high perch. Amid the rustling feathers, Leon spoke with a gravity Elwin had never before seen in him.

“What occurred yesterday was in no way your fault, my lord,” Leon said, his voice ringing with absolute, fierce certainty. “If you harbor even a shred of guilt, it is only because your heart is too gentle, blaming yourself for something entirely out of your control. Banish it. And if anyone else dares whisper such nonsense, ignore them. Better yet, tell me. I will personally dismantle whoever dares spit such filth.”

Leon’s palms scalded Elwin’s skin through his clothes. It felt as though he desperately yearned to gather Elwin into a tight embrace, holding himself back only through sheer force of will. Elwin nearly blurted out that he did not mind—that Leon did not have to restrain himself—but with his guilt still weighing heavily, he could only murmur a halting admission.

“T-thank you. But… that is not the only matter in which I am not entirely innocent.”

“What do you mean?”

“To tell you the truth, I almost did something similar once,” Elwin said, lowering his eyes in shame. “Or rather, it was not entirely my own doing, but… I mean the night I came to your chambers.”

Strictly speaking, Leon had been the victim of that encounter, which made Elwin’s cheeks burn with embarrassment.

“That evening, Toby did something peculiar with the dinner menu. It seems he was actually targeting Mr. Dwight, but… do you know what oysters, truffle sauce, port wine, and hot chocolate are reputed to do?”

“Ah.”

“I drank far too much without realizing, and you had consumed a great deal of wine as well,” Elwin stammered. “I nearly instigated an incident regardless of your consent… so I am truly sorry. And I am sorry for hiding this from you until now. I only—”

As Elwin’s face flushed a deep crimson, Leon’s hands slowly slipped from his shoulders. The intense, burning gaze that had been fixed on Elwin wavered and turned aside. Fearing he had crossed some unspoken boundary, Elwin whispered, “Mr. Leon? You are angry after all, aren’t you?”

“Ah… no, Sir Elwin.”

Peering closer, Elwin noticed that a heavy blush had crept up Leon’s neck as well. Leon lifted a hand, pinching the bridge of his nose as he cleared his throat.

“Ahem. There are… folk beliefs that port wine and those specific dishes possess such qualities, but they are merely superstitions. If they held any truth, those dishes would never be served at imperial banquets.”

“What? Then…”

“Indeed,” Leon muttered, clearing his throat once more. “The reason I… reacted that way that night was solely because I was in the same room with you. I do not say this to cast blame, my lord, but you smelled extraordinarily sweet.”

Good heavens. Did that mean the reason his pheromones had spiraled out of control that night was not the wine, but simply that he had lost his grip on his own senses? He had not been drugged, and it had not been his cycle, yet he had nearly slipped into a full heat.

So in the end, I was simply aroused entirely on my own.

Utterly unable to look at Leon now for an entirely different reason, Elwin mirrored his gesture, rubbing the bridge of his own nose as he averted his gaze. “I-I see. In any case, that makes it even worse… I have troubled you several times, Mr. Leon.”

“No. Troubled me? Not in the slightest.”

A heavy, charged silence descended between them. Leon, who seemed to be fighting a losing battle to master the color in his face, finally gave up and took a step back.

“If this continues, I shall be the one who truly compromises you, my lord. You must still be exhausted, so please, rest further.”

The moment Elwin saw Leon bow with impeccable courtesy, he understood—rare though it was—the hidden meaning behind those ambiguous words. He wanted Leon to remain. Yet at the same time, he knew that if he kept looking at him, the strange emotion swelling in his chest would shatter. Leon clearly felt the same tension.

Walking to the threshold, Leon retrieved the heavy wooden door panel he had unhinged earlier. He paused, as if remembering some crucial detail.

“Ah, Sir Elwin. I realize now that what I said previously regarding your honor was incorrect.”

“What?”

“Your honor belongs solely to you, my lord. It is not something I can preserve for you, nor is it something I can strip away. I merely spoke out of selfishness because I wished for your company.”

“…”

“Nothing that transpired yesterday, nor anything else in this world, can tarnish your dignity. You already know this, of course. Until we meet again.”

With that, Leon hoisted the massive door panel back into place and slipped away. In the faint, lingering scent of his departure, Elwin quietly turned those parting words over in his mind.

His honor was his own.

As Leon had concluded, Elwin knew this truth deep down. Yet hearing it affirmed aloud felt entirely different, like a gentle hand carving the words directly onto his heart. He thought back to the vile, mocking slurs Dwight had spat the previous night. Strangely, they no longer pierced him as they had hours ago; they merely drifted away like harmless debris.

I am all right. Truly.

By the time he fell back into a deep sleep and woke again, even the stubborn ache in his muscles had vanished, leaving him thoroughly restored. Yet the oppressive atmosphere hanging over the manor had not dissipated. Countless dilemmas remained unresolved, some of which seemed entirely insurmountable. Stepping out of his chambers, Elwin approached Alfred, whose face had grown remarkably haggard in the span of a single night.

“Mr. Alfred, you endured a great ordeal last night.”

“Oh, no, young master. It was you who suffered,” the old butler choked out, his eyes instantly welling with tears. “How could such an abomination touch our gentle young master…?”

Alfred held Elwin in such high regard that he often grew tearful merely gazing at him on an ordinary day. Now, the poor man looked as though he might disintegrate into sobs at any moment.

“I am perfectly fine. Everyone came to my aid,” Elwin reassured him gently. “I understand Mr. Dwight is currently confined to the annex. I am terribly sorry that your own quarters have been disrupted because of it.”

“My comfort is of no consequence! I suggested the annex in the heat of the moment, but the grander crisis is what we must do with him now. Ha… it is not my place to speak on such matters, but is it truly wise to hand the honorable Ravenwell title to a man of that caliber?”

Indeed, this was the shadow that darkened the servants’ relief. Though they were gladdened to see Elwin recovered and clear-eyed, the future loomed ominously. How could a creature of Dwight’s nature inherit the family’s legacy? Elwin’s own mind was a tangled knot of anxiety.

“I do not know,” Elwin admitted softly. “At the very least, we might notify the baron’s household that yesterday’s transgressions make it impossible for us to accept Mr. Dwight as the successor. Perhaps they will designate the eldest son instead…”

If they did, the Ravenwell estate might secure a lord far more decent than Dwight. Even so, Elwin’s departure would remain inevitable. As he sank deeper into these bleak calculations, Toby came bursting through the garden doors, breathless and shouting.

“Young master! Mr. Dale has arrived!”

“Mr. Dale?”

“Yes! He claims he dispatched a telegram upon leaving Savar, but how a man can outrun a wire is beyond me! The telegraph lines must still be down. Oh, I am so anxious—do you suppose the transfer of the shares was completed successfully?” Toby babbled, his face alight with excitement.

Dale was one of the estate’s most trusted, long-serving administrators, having managed the count’s finances for years. When the late count launched his mining venture, Dale had accompanied him to Savar to oversee the enterprise. In his correspondence, Dale had promised to return only after securing as many of the chaotic shares as possible under Elwin’s name.

To Elwin, those shares represented a final, desperate lifeline.

Heart pounding, he hurried to the foyer to greet him.